Russian drone strikes have increasingly targeted data centers and telecom networks in Kyiv, causing widespread internet and mobile outages. According to Ars Technica, the attacks intensified around September 23, with Ukraine's digital transformation ministry reporting that 100,000 households in the Kyiv region lost connectivity. Officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warn that the outages threaten banks, payment systems, and public services that depend on stable telecommunications.
The strikes exploit gaps in Ukraine's air defenses. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces intercept more than 85 percent of conventional Shahed drones, but that rate drops to 50 or 60 percent for newer jet-powered versions, which are faster and harder to shoot down. The Institute for the Study of War describes the campaign as part of a broader strategy to make civilian life unbearable and push Ukraine to capitulate.
Ukraine has already moved some data centers abroad and expanded underground telecom networks, according to former deputy defense minister Kateryna Chernohorenko. But she cautioned that not everything can be moved underground and called on allies to strengthen air defenses. Some Kyiv residents are being advised to buy Starlink terminals as a backup, while Reporters Without Borders has called the strikes war crimes that violate the public's right to information.